Legal professional privilege is for lawyers only
Legal professional privilege (LPP) applies only to qualified solicitors and barristers, the Supreme Court has held.
In a majority 5:2 verdict, the court ruled that the scope of LLP did not extend to accountants offering legal advice on a tax matter, in Prudential plc and Prudential (Gibraltar) Ltd v Special Commissioner of Income Tax and Philip Pandolfo (HM Inspector of Taxes) [2013] UKSC 1.
Prudential had argued that accountants advising on a tax avoidance scheme could not be compelled to disclose their communications because they were bound by LLP and therefore owed absolute confidentiality to their client.
However, the court agreed with the Court of Appeal’s view that extending LPP to other professionals was a matter for Parliament not the courts.
James Bullock, head of litigation and compliance at Pinsent Masons, says: “LPP is a rule of evidence designed to protect individuals against disclosure to the court.
“It is therefore about the rights of litigants—not, as some have sought to portray it, about professionals lining their pockets.
“There are many interested parties...it is also an issue for other professionals who provide advice on ‘the law’—for instance, surveyors and planning consultants.”
Desmond Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, which intervened in the case, says: “The relationship between a solicitor or barrister and his or her client is a precious human right, tested and refined by centuries of common law.
“Legal professional privilege supports the process of law, speeding the conviction of the guilty and securing the acquittal of the innocent.”
Lord Neuberger’s summing up of the decision and reasons is the first to be posted on the Supreme Court’s new YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/uksupremecourt.
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